57 percent of respondents said the harsh political tone had nothing to do with the shooting, compared to 32 percent who felt it did. Republicans were more likely to feel the two were unrelated - 69 percent said rhetoric was not to blame; 19 percent said it played a part. Democrats were more split on the issue - 49 percent saw no connection; 42 percent said there was.

Independents more closely reflected the overall breakdown - 56 percent said rhetoric had nothing to do with the attack; 33 percent felt it did.

The telephone poll was conducted among 673 adults across the country. The margin of error is +/- 4 percent.

Hat Tip: Former Reasoner Dave Weigel, who writes at Slate, "That's still around a third of the country that blames rhetoric for the attack, despite evidence that it had nothing to do with it."

I agree with Dave that there's no evidence that political rhetoric had anything to do with the shooting, and note the poll question above was not whether rhetoric caused the attack but whether it had anything to do with it. So even the third who think that political talk had something to do with the attack are not necessarily saying it was the main cause.

These numbers reflect an America that is remaining pretty level-headed despite an incredibly ugly killing spree and a strong push by many in politics and the commentariat to say that Loughner's insanity is tied to the Tea Party, Sarah Palin, hard rock music, you name it.

An essential piece of an emerging motivation for Jared Lee Loughner's violence is emerging thanks to Mother Jones, who interviewed a friend of the alleged shooter. The friend describes Loughner's anger after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords didn't answer a question he posed at a public event in 2007. Read the interview here.

[The friend, Bryce] Tierney, who's also 22, recalls Loughner complaining about a Giffords event he attended during that period. He's unsure whether it was the same one mentioned in the chargesâLoughner "might have gone to some other rallies," he saysâbut Tierney notes it was a significant moment for Loughner: "He told me that she opened up the floor for questions and he asked a question. The question was, 'What is government if words have no meaning?'"

Giffords' answer, whatever it was, didn't satisfy Loughner. "He said, 'Can you believe it, they wouldn't answer my question,' and I told him, 'Dude, no one's going to answer that,'" Tierney recalls. "Ever since that, he thought she was fake, he had something against her."

That question and its response further undergirds Loughner's insanity that was on display in his online postings. From almost any perspective, it is extremely unsatisfying that a killer is motivated simply by mental illness. We want there to be a stronger, deeper, somehow more complicated explanation in cases such as these, both to to dispel lingering fears that chance and contingency dominate the cosmos and because, oddly enough, it helps elevate the suffering of the victims and survivors of monumental violence if they were somehow caught up in a grander plan, no matter how matter evil.

I suspect that the more we learn about Loughner, the less we will feel secure that the world is a tidy, orderly place.

I find these statics interesting.
32% of Americans identify themselves as Democrats.
32% of those surveyed think the “atmosphere of hatred” caused Jared Loughner to kill and wound about a score of people. That seems to indicate that 32% of Americans are nuts!
Could it be the same 32%?

You could spend your entire life being kind to others while humming Amazing Grace, and you would not alter the behavior of a psycho one whit. The Arizona gunman may have been a left-wing nut, but I think NUT is the operative word here.

And one more thing, it's easy to press for civility and playing-nicely-with-others when you have just finished getting nearly everything you ever wanted. Dems are so good at this; anyone who disagrees with them is just “mean-spirited.” NOW they want bipartisanship. Now they want everyone to play sweetly. These people have run all over conservative Americans, and it would be a serious mistake for us to agree to censorship, gun control, or political compromise.

The Tucson shooting occurred because of a loose nut with a gun. If the big-mouth sheriff of Pima County had done his job and prevented the nut from owning a gun, it's doubtful this tragedy would have happened.

When will the media shut up about the so-called “toxic political culture” in America?

If the worst examples of said “toxic culture” are a few posters and comments by talk radio hosts, then America’s political culture is far from toxic.

You media talking heads want some examples of truly toxic political cultures? How about Pakistan, where leaders get done in by their own bodyguards? Or Afghanistan, where every rival faction has its guns trained on everybody else? Sudan? Congo? Iraq? Russia? You get the idea.

You think politicians and journalists fret about a few harsh words in countries where politics really is played with human lives?

Agreed. This nonsense of the last 3 days since the Arizona disaster is, to me personally, the last straw. These bastards are off in another world, and not one that I am from or want to be a part of. It’s time to part ways. We cannot live together in any sense of common good or harmony. They are rabid animals.

[The Tucson shooting occurred because of a loose nut with a gun. If the big-mouth sheriff of Pima County had done his job and prevented the nut from owning a gun, it’s doubtful this tragedy would have happened.]

EVERYBODY should be allowed to carry guns! The loose nuts will rapidly evaporate if good people with guns end the threat when it occurs. I don’t want an idiot like this sheriff preventing ME from owning a gun, what with his agenda spewing out of his mouth.

The “IF” statement should read; If some good citizen(s) in the crowd of these victims had been armed and willing to do something good, we would be reading about how he maybe shot 2 or 3 people before he succumbed to numerous gunshot wounds.

EVERYBODY should be allowed to carry guns! The loose nuts will rapidly evaporate if good people with guns end the threat when it occurs. I dont want an idiot like this sheriff preventing ME from owning a gun, what with his agenda spewing out of his mouth.

The IF statement should read; If some good citizen(s) in the crowd of these victims had been armed and willing to do something good, we would be reading about how he maybe shot 2 or 3 people before he succumbed to numerous gunshot wounds.

That's the pity about this AZ story. They don't require permission slips for concealed carry any more. They changed the law last year.

[That’s the pity about this AZ story. They don’t require permission slips for concealed carry any more. They changed the law last year.]

It’s like living in a free country here in AZ.

Had this been a gathering of conservatives, say for a tea party supported Republican, there would probably have been a few good people toting guns and we would be reading this loose nut’s obit instead of those of innocents.

This sort of poll is worthless. The fact of the matter is that the only person who can answer this question is a 22 year old mentally ill nut. Nobody else has a clue.

100% of Americans polled have no clue whatsoever. Only one crazy man in Arizona knows for sure.

You're missing the point, IMHO. The rats and the lamestream media tried to libel libel Sarah Palin, the Tea Party movement, Fox News, talk radio, etc. They failed big time. While the margin or error was +/- four percent, it wasn't even registered registered voters, much less likely voters. The left tried to exploit a tragedy. It's blowing up in their faces!

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